"Mother, I'm hungry!"
In a small village near Riverrun in the Riverlands, a little boy tugged at his mother's clothes and pleaded softly as she struggled to search the ruins for anything they could still use.
"Little Fish, your father went out to find food. He should be back soon. Let's hold on a little longer."
Little Fish's mother wiped her hands on her tattered linen skirt, then gathered him into her arms and comforted him softly, her heart aching.
A few days earlier, three vicious dragons had suddenly descended on their village and eaten all their livestock. They had even devoured many children and old people who had failed to get out of the way.
To catch the livestock, the dragons had destroyed nearly half the village's houses. Although no one in Little Fish's family had been killed or injured, their home had been burned to ashes by dragonfire. The flock of sheep on which their livelihood depended had also been devoured.
All the food stored at home had burned along with the house. But the crops in the fields would not ripen for another two months.
With no other choice, Little Fish's father and the other villagers had secretly entered a nearby hunting preserve to catch wild rabbits, pheasants, and other game to stave off their hunger.
They would never have dared do this if they had any other choice. Anyone caught poaching could be sent to the Wall for forced labor at best, or have both hands cut off or be hanged outright at worst.
The nearby woods and rivers all belonged to the lords. The villagers had no right to hunt or gather food there.
Yet even after taking such a tremendous risk, they still faced danger at every turn while hunting.
First, their crude tools